Saturday, May 25, 2013

The Ten Most Powerful Biblical Women (continued)

Yesterday, I posted the Top Five. If you missed them, be sure to check them out. Here are my picks for 6-10:

6. Priscilla—This New
Testament lady is a virtuous woman in every way. (I think it’s hilarious that
her husband’s name is Aquila. I mean really, Priscilla and Aquila!! It’s just
too good.) Laughing aside, she’s in my top ten because she’s the only woman in
the Bible who helped to disciple one of the early preachers of the gospel. The
more I learn about her, the more I like her. She is always mentioned alongside her
husband. They were a team in many ways: their marriage, working together making
tents, discipling Apollos, traveling with Paul and helping him in the ministry,
and opening their home as a meeting place for the church. (Acts 18; Romans
16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19)

7. Deborah—This Old
Testament lady was the only woman who was appointed a judge in Israel. We’re
not sure if she was a widow at the time she was a judge, but we know her
husband was Lapidoth. (Judges 4-5) She’s one of the few ladies in the Bible
who’s called a prophetess—someone who
proclaims God’s Word. We find her under the palm
tree of Deborah (4:5) helping people with their problems. She calls for
Barak and asks him if he got the directions from God to go to battle with the
army of Sisera. His response shows a lack of faith. He says, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with
me, then I will not go. Then Deborah answers him, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou
takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the
hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh (4:8-9).
Deborah actually rode into battle with General Barak. She encouraged him with
these words: Up; for this is the day in
which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out
before thee? (4:14) The battle raged, and Sisera ran away on foot. (Brave
man!) Later, Sisera is killed by Jael, and Deborah gives all the credit to the
Lord. She sings a duet with Barak that says, Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people
willingly offered themselves. Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even
I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel
(5:2-3). I admire Deborah for honoring God always, for being wise and judging
Israel, for proclaiming God’s Word, and for praising God for another woman’s
success. She’s definitely a top ten!

8. Jael—Heber’s wife
Jael is one of the gutsiest women of the Bible. I have no idea how she had the
wisdom, nerve, and acting ability to pull off one of the most ingenious assassinations
in Scripture. She sees Sisera running near her tent and goes out to meet him.
Picture this: she is his enemy, yet she gains his confidence, and he trusts her
enough to go to her tent to hunker down. She gives him milk. (It naturally
contains tryptophan, which produces restfulness, relaxation, and sleep.) Jael
tucks him into bed, and stands guard in the doorway—until he’s asleep. Then,
she grabs a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and
fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. And,
behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him,
Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her
tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples (Judges
4:21-22). God delivered His enemy into the hand of a woman, just as Deborah had
prophesied. Jael, the brave and lethal actress, did the dirty work. For this reason,
I believe she’s one of the Bible’s “most powerful women.”

9. Dorcas—Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by
interpretation is called Dorcas:
this woman was full of good works and
almsdeeds which she did (Acts 9:36). This
lady was a devoted follower of Christ and someone who helped others. Dorcas got
sick and died. They washed her body and laid it out in an upper room. Two men
were sent to go and get Peter. Peter went right away. When he arrived in the
chamber, he found this scene: all the
widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them (9:39). Peter shooed all the people out of the room, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning
him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw
Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had
called the saints and widows, presented her alive. And it was known throughout
all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord (9:40-42). Dorcas makes my list
because of her faith, her ministry to needy women, and because God saw fit to
raise her from the dead as evidence of His resurrection power. One can only
imagine the ministry she had after she
came back from the other side. Such stories! Such a wonderful testimony!

10. The queen of Sheba—The
only political figure in my top ten, this lady makes my list for several
reasons. I admire her wit, her curiosity, her willingness to examine the facts,
and her honest assessment of what she saw. Her story is in 1 Kings 10:1-13 and
2 Chronicles 9:1-12. The Bible says the queen went to see Solomon because she
hadheard of the fame
of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard
questions (1 Kings 10:1). The Bible tells us she arrived at Jerusalem with a very great company, and camels that
bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones (2 Chronicles 9:1).
(Had she lived today, she’d have had a hard time getting through customs!) She
traveled quite some way to get to Jerusalem, from Saba, now Yemen.And when she was come to Solomon, she
communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her
questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not. And
when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he
had built, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the
attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their
apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there
was no more spirit in her. She was left
speechless! But, then, she says, It was a
true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:
Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it:
and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for
thou exceedest the fame that I heard. Happy are thy men, and happy are these
thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which
delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God:
because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he
thee king over them, to do judgment and justice (2 Corinthians 9:1b-8). The
queen with all the questions got her questions answered—and then some. What I
love here is that she gives the glory to God. She praises Solomon, yes, but she
gives the glory to God. Did she become a true believer on her trip to Jerusalem?
We don’t know. We do know that she went back to her country with a renewed
respect for our God and His praise on her lips.

Who would you include in your “Top Ten Most Powerful Biblical Women”?Please share why, and what ranking you would give her/them.
I’d love to hear your answers!

Hi and welcome to In the Way! I explore many subjects, striving always to present them from a biblical viewpoint. Feel free to browse the tabs at the top for general categories. If you don't see what you're looking for, use the search button below. I'm a pastor's wife, mother of two, grandma, teacher, author, and blogger. I live in a quaint little village in the beautiful Basque region of northern Spain.

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Lou Ann is a young-thinking grandma with an infectious laugh. She rejoices in nature and other beautiful things--including people! She's an avid writer and practices several other artistic expressions, like singing when no one's listening, calligraphy, photography, and even "serious art." Lou Ann loves her Lord Jesus Christ, family, and her church.